Operating and managing the manned research submersible Shinkai 6500 and its support vessel Yokosuka

The Yokosuka supports the state-of-the-art manned research submersible Shinkai 6500. After the Shinkai 6500 has been loaded into the hangar on the aft deck, the Yokosuka sets out for the survey sea area where it provides the Shinkai 6500 with on-board support for all survey tasks.
In 2004, the Shinkai 6500 conducted a variety of deep-sea surveys in many parts of the world. Activities included the observation of a Pacific Ocean oceanic rise in the South Pacific, a seafloor topographic survey of unsurveyed sea areas, a survey of the hydrothermal ecosystem, and the deployment of ocean bottom seismographs.
Nippon Marine Enterprises was commissioned to operate and manage the Yokosuka in 1990.